


Sweet Dreams

by starryeyedchar



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ?? i guess, Angst, Attempted Kidnapping, Canon Compliant, Fluff and Angst, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, Injury, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, canonverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 21:35:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13490235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryeyedchar/pseuds/starryeyedchar
Summary: Keith hates parties. Lance loves them, but this one in particular doesn't end up being especially fun for him.In other words, Lance gets knocked out by the pretty alien girl he was flirting with, who was actually a spy for Zarkon on the planet they just freed. And this doesn't go over very well with Keith.





	Sweet Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> A year ago, I started watching VLD. Back then, I could not even have possibly imagined the happiness this show would bring to my life. I fell in love with the characters, the plot, everything, and I was inspired. I gained confidence enough to begin posting fics like these and it’s honestly just been? So rewarding. The positive response was overwhelming, and now I can’t imagine my life before I was able to share my writing with people so easily.
> 
> So, to celebrate, have some canonverse (I’ve been doing too many AUs lately), pre-slash klance (angst). The ship that my friend talked about to convince me to watch the show in the first place.
> 
> I hope you enjoy, and comments are always appreciated!

Keith _hated_ parties. He always had.

Granted, he loved being a paladin of Voltron. He finally felt like... a part of something. He liked the piloting, the battles and missions, the _saving people_.

But the diplomatic meetings, and celebrations on liberated planets? He was no good with those.

Keith didn't like being in large crowds, and he definitely didn't like random aliens that he'd never seen before coming up to thank him. What was he supposed to _say_ to them? And why did it come so easily to the others?!

Lance, for example, looked like a fish in water. He was crouched down, talking to several of the alien children with a big grin on his face, snapping selfies with them. He was so much better at this than Keith.

The others, too. Pidge seemed right at home getting shown some of this planet's tech, and Hunk was supplying the natives with his cooking. Allura, Shiro, and Coran were all discussing political matters with the leaders.

And Keith stood off to the side with his arms crossed, growing increasingly uncomfortable.

Lance looked up, immediately meeting Keith's eyes, and his grin widened. Keith looked off the the side with a small scoff. He _hadn't_ been staring.

“Join the festivities, Mullet!” Lance called, causing all the young aliens to focus their attention on him. Much to his alarm, all the kids were soon surrounding him, echoing Lance's request.

Keith glared at him, and Lance just laughed, walking over himself.

“No, thanks,” Keith said, as politely as he could muster, though he continued to frown at Lance. “I'm good.”

“But _Keith_ ,” Lance whined, faking a pout before his expression quickly returned to a grin. “Come on! This is what it's all about!”

“Parties?”

“No, stupid, not just the parties,” Lance said, then smirked. “Although, those _are_ great.”

Keith groaned.

“But more than that. Actually being able to talk to, and _meet_ the people we're fighting to save. Isn't that what makes being a paladin all worth it?”

Keith didn't really understand that. He didn't need to meet any of the aliens, he just helped them because it was right. Because it was his job. He didn't _want_ any sort of recognition, or award.

But Lance wasn't like that. He wanted the spotlight, wanted the rewards and appreciation that came with being a defender of the universe.

It was something that Keith both hated and loved about him.

He didn't voice the thought, though. Of course not. He just scowled, and said, “Sure. _You_ just want to flirt with the girls on every planet.”

“Well, it beats standing in the corner and looking all broody,” Lance pointed out. “You could try it too, you know. Get yourself out there. I bet the ladies would love to hear all about your dark, mysterious past and look into your equally dark, equally mysterious eyes.”

Keith ignored him.

“And your also dark, also mysterious mullet.”

“Would you shut up?!” Keith whirled to face him. “Just because you're so inclined to fall in love at the drop of a hat doesn't mean I'm the same. I'd... rather be by myself. So can't you just leave me alone?”

Lance stared at him for a moment. His smile faltered.

“Right,” he finally said, nodding as if to convince himself. “Uh... sorry. I'm going to— yeah. Watch the kids for me?”

Before Keith could protest, Lance disappeared into the crowd, seeming to head straight for Hunk. He glanced down at the kids.

“Um.... go play with Coran?” he offered, with a small shrug. “He has a mustache.”

This information was apparently sufficient in sending the entire crowd of alien children over to the Altean man, despite the fact that they probably had no idea what a mustache _was_.

Keith looked back up at the crowd. He was just thinking that _maybe_ he should apologize when an alien girl carrying a tray bumped into Lance, and he caught it. The girl smiled at him, saying something, and Lance smiled back.

With an eye roll, Keith turned around and made sure to find a wall facing the opposite way, so he wouldn't have to watch Lance with the girl who'd caught his interest on this planet.. Every time it felt like a punch to the gut.

 

* * *

 

What Keith said hadn't _bothered_ Lance, necessarily. Or at least, he didn't want it to.

But hearing that he 'fell in love at the drop of a hat' from the one person he'd been dying to get the attention of for _ages_ was... a bit like a punch to the gut, all things considered.

Hunk and his fantastic cooking could always be counted on to make him feel better, though, so that's where Lance was headed.

That is, until an alien girl walked directly into him. She came from the side, and dropped the tray she was carrying. Without thinking about it, Lance reached out, catching it with one hand. The glasses didn't even spill.

“Woah, careful there,” Lance said. And then, because he couldn't resist, “As much as I'd love for you to fall for me, this isn't exactly what I had in mind.”

The girl stared at him with wide, blinking eyes for a moment, then burst into laughter. She snorted a little at the end, right before she stifled the sound with her hand.

It was endearing.

_Keith snorts when he laughs sometimes, too._

He did his best to ignore the thought.

“Funny _and_ fast reflexes,” the girl observed. “Thank you, for helping me.”

Lance beamed. “All in day's work.”

The girl's eyes widened almost comically, and she seemed to register the armor he was wearing for the first time. “You're a... a paladin of... oh, stars above! I'm so sorry, I didn't— are you okay? I can—”

“Woah, hey, it's fine,” Lance promised, patting her on the shoulder in an attempt to get her to relax. “ _I'm_ fine, I was worried about you.”

“Sorry,” she said again, voice quiet. “It's just— if I had known I never would've— I'm so sorry for bumping into you!”

“Seriously, don't worry about it,” he told her. “I bump into people all the time. You don't have to apologize. Why would you need to?”

“I'm... I'm not a diplomat or leader here,” she mumbled. “Just a serving girl, I... I shouldn't even be _talking_ to you.”

Lance crossed his arms. "And why not?"

She stared at him as if thrown completely for a loop by the question. “You're a paladin of _Voltron_. You could be talking to anyone here. Why do you even want to talk to me? You could probably talk to a much prettier—”

“Hey,” Lance interrupted. He didn't like the way this conversation was going, the way this girl kept beating herself up. It... reminded him of himself. “As far as I'm concerned, you're one of the most beautiful girls here.”

And it was true, too.

Her skin was a soft shade of pink, with blue and purple markings on her face and arms. Her eyes were bright blue, with a lighter shade where the whites should be. Her ears and cheekbones were both sharp, her lips naturally curving into half a smirk. Thin, but wearing a loose, plain, light blue gown that all the servants wore. It matched her eyes almost exactly. Her hair was coiled into a bun on top of her head, a much brighter pink than her her skin.

A dark purple blush spread across her cheeks.

“You flatter me,” she smiled then, eyes sparkling. “Would... do you mind if we step out of the crowd a bit? It's a little suffocating. I don't know how you go to so many of these.”

“Oh, trust me, some of us are more comfortable with it than others,” he said, looking over his shoulder as he followed the girl to the edge of the crowd. He hoped to wink at Keith, maybe point at the girl like 'see, I can flirt'. But the paladin was nowhere to be seen.

Only a little disappointed, he turned back towards her. “I never actually got your name, and you're going to have to call me something other than 'paladin of Voltron', so... the name's Lance.”

The girl hesitated for a second before grinning at him. “Roziel,” she replied. “Pleasure to meet you, Lance.” They stopped near one of the entrances to the corridor, and she passed him a glass of clear liquid. He eyed it suspiciously.

“I'm... I probably shouldn't drink on the job,” he held the cup out to her, but she just pressed it towards him with another small laugh.

“I believe it's commonly referred to as water, at least on your planet. Just with a few extra herbs,” she told him. “Drink it. Helps one to relax, and I'm sure you need that after such a difficult battle. It is customary.”

“I... wouldn't want to offend the locals.” Lance's smile was hesitant even as he took the glass from her. “Well, bottoms up, I guess.”

He tilted it back, at first intending to only take a sip, but Roziel had soon downed her entire glass. Any suspicions he'd previously had were immediately gone, and he finished it in seconds. It _was_ like water, but slightly sweet. A very unfamiliar taste. That Lance liked.

They continued to chat for some time. She asked about the Lions, his teammates, the castle, almost everything. Lance, to his credit, didn't tell her anything of consequence. He'd learned that lesson with Nyma, even if he didn't think he had to be wary of this girl. Still, her interests seemed rooted in genuine curiosity, and she was always quick to apologize when she asked something a bit too personal.

The alarm bells didn't really start ringing in his head until he told her he should check in with his team, as Shiro was close by.

But when he took a step forward, his vision blurred in and out of focus, tilting sharply then settling once again. He turned to look back at Roziel, who was staring at him with concern.

“Are you all right?” she asked, but her soft voice sounded distorted and far away. Lance placed a hand on the nearest table to steady himself, blinking rapidly.

“Yeah, 'm just... I dunno if that water agreed with me after... after all.” His throat was growing drier, it felt like he was trying to speak through a wad of cotton in his mouth. “Where're... where's... Shiro!”

Lance grabbed the older man's arm as he walked past, stumbling forward. Shiro looked at him, and frowned almost immediately. His eyes landed on the tray of empty glasses in Roziel's hands.

“Shiro... you gotta... I dunno what—”

“Lance, are you drunk?” Shiro hissed under his breath. “You're only seventeen! We can't have you behaving like this at diplomatic meetings!”

“What...? No, 'm not—”

“I'm sorry, sir,” Roziel said to Shiro, bowing slightly. “I didn't know the drinks would have such strong effects on humans. Our people have a higher tolerance for what you call... alcohol? He promised me it would be fine!”

Shiro glared at Lance, then turned back to her, expression polite. “I'm so sorry about him, he can be a bit of a goofball. Escort him to another room and keep an eye on him, if you could? I don't want him to mess up the ceremony.”

Roziel bowed again and took Lance by the arm, leading him down the hall. “Of course.”

Lance's mind struggled to keep up with what was going on around the fog clouding it. Had he heard that conversation correctly? He tried to pull his arm out of Roziel's grip, but his limbs felt like they were made of jelly.

She led him into a room off the end of the corridor, and slammed the door shut behind them. The instant the door was closed, she let go of his arm, and Lance collapsed unceremoniously on the floor.

“Roziel... wha's going—”

“Oh, please,"”she scoffed, and her voice was nothing like it was before, shy and quiet. “Here I was, thinking catching a paladin of Voltron would be _hard_. You'll fetch a decent amount from the Galra, I think.” She was grinning.

Lance felt like an idiot.

This girl was a spy, someone working with or for the Galra, and he'd played right into her hands. He'd been too trusting again, too willing to talk to a pretty face. It was just like Nyma.

Stupid, stupid,  _stupid_ .

He opened his mouth to say something else, probably a witty comeback or determined retort, but he never got the chance. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed onto the floor.

 

* * *

 

Keith was trying not to panic, but it was getting increasingly difficult.

The crowd pressed around him on all sides. He looked toward where Lance had been before, but he was nowhere in sight. In fact, Keith couldn't seem to find any of the other paladins. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move while surrounded by this many people, and complete strangers at that.

He needed an out, and he needed it _now_.

Luckily, he was able to make his way across the room and into a hallway to get some air. He was walking down towards the balcony when he heard it.

“How big would my bonus be if I said I could give you one of the paladins of Voltron?”

And Keith stopped in his tracks.

It was a girl's voice, but unfamiliar. He ducked behind the door to listen in further.

She was clearly on the phone, or this planet's equivalent of a phone, as he could only hear her side of the conversation.

“Well, no, not the lion,” she continued. “Just the one paladin. I saw my chance and I took it, but if you're not interested—”

She broke off, clearly having been interrupted by someone on the other end. He could hear the smirk in her voice when she spoke again.

“That's what I thought. How much? He's still alive, by the way, just knocked out. He'll work better as a bargaining chip or for interrogations that way. But you can do whatever you want with him.”

Another pause.

Keith's mind was racing a mile a minute. She'd knocked out one of his teammates? Who?

He was debating going to get the others when she spoke again.

“Why does the color matter?” she asked, sounding incredulous. “I don't know, he's wearing blue armor, but said he pilots the Red Lion? I couldn't get him to tell me very much, and I wanted to drug him before he got suspicious that—”

Keith had heard enough.

He'd burst through the door in seconds, and a quick glance around the room was enough to confirm his reason for fear.

Lance was on the ground, eyes shut and features completely blank. The girl standing over him was the one who'd bumped into Lance earlier. Who Lance had been really excited to talk to.

And she'd... she'd drugged him. She was going to give him to the Galra like a trophy.

Keith was _seething_.

Upon his entry, the girl immediately shoved the phone in her pocket, and turned towards him with wide, innocent eyes.

“Oh, another paladin!” she exclaimed, voice now much softer than before. “Thank goodness, your friend had a little too much to drink and so I brought him here, but now he's passed out... is this normal for your species? Should I take him somewhere?”

Keith drew his bayard. “Save it. I heard what you were saying. You're not taking Lance anywhere.”

The girl stared back at him blankly for another second, two. Then, her mouth slowly shifted into a smirk. “Guess you're not as easy to fool as your leader, huh?”

Keith was in no mood for beating around the bush. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“Your friend here,” she jerked a thumb at Lance. “Tried to tell that other guy that something was wrong, Shiro? But he completely bought my story that Lance had just voluntarily had a little too much to drink! Poor Lance, couldn't even get two words out right. He thought he was just drinking water.”

Keith hadn't realized it was possible to become angrier than he already was.

“I must say, it was easier to get him like this than I thought. A shame that I won't be able to slip away without incident, though. Zarkon really values my intel from this planet,” she sighed, then grinned wider. “But I'm sure handing him two paladins of Voltron on a silver platter will make up for it.”

“Who says either of us are going anywhere with you?” Keith asked, lifting his sword a bit higher. “Give me Lance now, and I'll let you live. Maybe.”

The girl immediately drew a knife, and brought it right up against Lance's throat.

“If you take one more step, I'll kill him.”

Keith made a sound that was almost like a growl. “And hurt your precious _bargaining chip_? You wouldn't.”

The girl just smiled, without it reaching her eyes. “Wouldn't I?” She raised the knife higher, and with a quick motion made a small cut under Lance's right eye. “If you want him to keep all his fingers and toes, I'd take a step back.”

A drop of blood trailed down Lance's cheek, the only movement on his otherwise stoic face since he was still out cold. It almost looked like a tear.

Keith stepped back.

And the girl's grin grew wider. “That's what I thought.”

“What are you going to do with him?” Keith asked, voice barely a whisper.

“I don't know. That part's not up to me, but I imagine it won't be too pleasant. Interrogations, experiments, who knows?” She shrugged, smile not wavering in the slightest. “Say, maybe they'll send him into the Gladiator Ring!”

Keith's eyes darkened. "Over my dead body."

The girl seemed to contemplate this for a moment. “Well, Zarkon likes to avoid killing valuable assets if possible, but if you're not willing to compromise I'm sure we can arrange something for you.”

Keith was doing his best to tune her out, trying to think of a way to engage her in a fight that wouldn't put Lance at risk. But his mind was coming up blank, too fogged with anger to work properly.

Lance still didn't stir in the slightest, and it was making Keith even more anxious. This was Lance, who was all big smiles, loud laughter, and exaggerated hand gestures. Whose presence could be felt the moment he walked into a room.

He was so quiet now, vulnerable, his expression blank as if in a dream. Maybe he was.

Keith hoped it was a nice one.

And he knew that if Lance were awake, this situation would be so much better. Hell, it would be like ones they'd dealt with countless times. Nyma had opted to take Lance's lion, but she'd done it almost exactly the same way.

It was one of Lance's biggest flaws, and also one of his greatest strengths. He trusted so, _so_ easily. Normally it was something admirable, something Keith couldn't understand in the slightest. But... it was also an easy way to get killed.

And this scenario, with Lance completely out of commission and at the mercy of those around him, was somehow even worse. It reminded Keith all too well of one of their earliest close calls.

A bomb, a cracked crystal shedding a dull glow of light on the then blue paladin, and Shiro supporting his limp body. Suspended in a pod for two days. Two days in which the castle was much too quiet.

Two days during which his mind did next to nothing but run in circles, trying to make sense of how his heart flipped at that strained, tired smile, and the soft look in Lance's eyes when he said they were a _good team_.

Keith squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a breath before opening them again. _No use dwelling on the past_ , Keith always told himself. _Lance survived then, he'll survive now._

Still, Lance probably would've been able to talk them out of this situation. Or do... something Lance-y, anyway. Shoot a pair of finger guns with a twinkling smile and reduce this girl to a blushing mess, charm and joke until the person holding him captive became his friend, _something_.

But Keith had never been good with words. He wouldn't be able to save Lance by talking about it.

So... what was Keith good at?

Easy. He was good at flying, at close combat, and at making rash, irresponsible decisions that either paid off or crashed and burned. But at this point, he'd have taken anything.

What was it Zarkon had said? He wanted to avoid killing them if possible? That was good enough for Keith.

He flew forward suddenly, with an angry cry, and the girl's smile finally died on her lips. As Keith had hope, she simply tossed Lance to the floor, opting instead to pull a long knife out and block his bayard with it.

Of course. She couldn't fight well with Lance there, either.

But it didn't take long for her to be overpowered. She was trained to be a spy after all, to gather intel. Just because she'd been equipped with weapons and armor didn't mean she knew how to use them.

Soon enough, Roziel was pinned to the ground, the wrist of her hand holding the knife held fast by Keith, his other arm pointing his bayard at her throat.

“Don't. Move,” he growled. “You're getting turned over to the authorities of this planet. They can decide what to do with you; I'm sure they won't be happy to find there was a Galra spy in their midst.”

The girl sneered. “Well, if I'm going to get punished anyway, might as well have it by the hands of a paladin of Voltron,” she said, eyes flashing with something Keith definitely didn't like. Then, without warning, she threw the knife.

It sailed through the air, heading towards Lance before Keith could stop it.

It's point lodged in the floor inches away from the now red paladin's head, and Keith let out a shuddering breath. The girl was laughing.

Without thinking, without even waiting for her to say anything else, Keith brought the blunt side of his bayard down on the side of her head, knocking her out cold.

And then he was frozen for a second, staring down at her in shock, before he rushed up and to Lance's still limp body, scooping him up in his arms.

He was completely uninjured, and Keith thanked the stars he could see shining in through the window, bright in the dark purple sky.

Keith looked back down at his teammate only to find that Lance's eyes were slowly fluttering open. “Hey,” he whispered. “Glad you're back. How do you feel?”

Lance ignored the question, and looked around. A soft smile crossed his face. “You're cradling me in your arms,” he said.

Keith allowed a short laugh. “Yeah. I've gotta get you back to the castle, to the infirmary. We need to see if there's anything we can do to help get whatever she gave you out of your system, even if it seems to be wearing off now.”

Lance winced. “Roziel. Is she—?”

“Don't worry,” Keith cut him off, glancing down at the girl's unconscious body on the ground. “I took care of it.”

Lance sighed. “I'm sorry. I fell right into the trap, I'm so—”

“Don't worry about it,” Keith repeated. “Really, Lance, it's fine. Not your fault anyway. I'm sorry we didn't notice sooner. Let's get you to a pod, okay?”

“I think I should be fine to—”

“ _Lance_.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Lance's eyes slipped closed again, exhaustion taking hold once more. He leaned his head against Keith's shoulder. “Thanks, Samurai.”

Keith sucked in a breath, unsure what to say next. The words seemed to be on the tip of his tongue, but... Lance was already passed out again.

Keith let the air out all at once, and stared down at Lance's peaceful face. They were safe again. 

 


End file.
